Top 10 Reasons The Video Game Industry Is In Trouble

Yes I will do it! I’m the bearer of doom and gloom. Someone has to do it. While most publications are rife with BEST this and that about the industry, few are looking at what ails it. I intend to rectify this with my list and hopes for the fixes of my favorite hobby. Without further ado…

10. Sequelitis

Yes, the industry has gotten sick with it. Following Hollywood tit for tat video games, for the most part, have become wholly un-original. Before you come stampeding my way with torches, let me explain. I don’t mean original as in a new genre or way to play a game (ducking Wii-motes). I mean original as in a new IP (Intellectual Property). What happened to getting excited over new characters? All of the gaming icons we know were once new. Instead of creating new characters, we get the same ones for the fifth, sixth, and eleventh installments.  I subscribe to the financial reasoning of betting on a name that people know, but it also smacks in the face of how that character became popular in the first place. No! I don’t want to play as Dante anymore, at least not for a while. I’m tired of hopping around with Mario, can I get a new character? Everyone talks about how this year was so great for gaming, but virtually every game on the Best Sellers list is a sequel - GTAIV, MGS:4, DMC 4, GHWT, Rock Band 2, GOW2, Res: 2, Mario Kart, etc etc  (You know these titles so well I can abbreviate them) How about a year without any sequels and totally new IP? Wouldn’t that be refreshing… [Read more]

COD: World At War “Nazi Zombie Mode”

That’s right, you read correct. The new Call of Duty is going to have a multiplayer mode that involves evil Nazi zombies. This is going to be a mini-game feature added to all games so you don’t have to worry about and exclusive nonsense. Now you’re probably wondering why zombies in a Call of Duty series? They’re games never had a history for introducing anything supernatural into their titles. Well, I guess it’s included because you’re fighting Nazi’s and, according to sources unknown, Nazi’s used to mess with that demonic stuff back in the day. So, it’s only fitting to say they raised some evil far worse than what they were dishing out, and the results back fired turning them in the flesh eating meat puppets.

I have to admit, although this maybe a little mini-game, it does look good enough to be a game on it’s own (sorry Left4Dead I’ll still hold a special place in my heart for you). Besides I’m down for popping Nazi tops any day!

Could Activision Enter The Console War?

With the console market already a very crowded place with three different consoles serving the needs of three (mostly) different demographics, what would happen if a fourth company released another console? It seems like the answer simply would be that the market isn’t big enough for four consoles and it would be destined to fail. However, what if that company was already one of the biggest companies in gaming, and that already has a firm hold on a sizable percentage of the gaming industry? What if that company was Activision Blizzard?

Around since the late 1970s, and founded by defectors from Atari, Activision currently sits atop the list of third party publishers, and it just keeps getting bigger and bigger everyday. Since the completion of their merger with Vivendi earlier this year, the moniker Activision now adorns multiple franchises at the top of their genres - “Guitar Hero,” “Call of Duty,” “Tony Hawk,” and the biggest of all “World of Warcraft,” just to name a few. Take a look at your game collection, and see how many of your games either have Activision, Blizzard, or Vivendi on them, and then think back to the Atari 2600, and how many quality games over the last 29 years have been released by this one publisher. [Read more]

E3 2008 - Singularity

Games like these tend to get over looked during E3. I didnt’ even know there was a new Kirby game out until recently but that’s okay.  With the fray of the ignored is a yet another first person shooter; Sorry, I can’t make it any more exciting than that. I can almost hear you go, “not another FPS”. Anyways, Singularity falls into the vein of time control. 

Coming along for the development ride is Raven Software, the guys that worked on Soldier of Fortune.  Ever since TimeShift, I’ve been concerned about the application of time control, and time travel within First Person Shooters. It would seem that your character is either too weak, too powerful, or has no power at all.  What’s worse are the weak stories that accompany some games that approach this idea.  Don’t get me wrong, TimeSplitters, in all its simplicity did a great job, and so did Orcania of Time.  We’ll give it a chance though, hoping that it delivers.

Activision to Start Releasing WII 1st Exclusives

The new consumer initiative will see a number of WII 1ST titles hit stores in time for the holiday season, including Little League World Series 2008, Rapala Fishing Frenzy and Dancing with the Stars: Get Your Dance On.

All of the games included in the new range, which will be supported by a national television and print advertising campaign launching this fall, will feature Wee 1ST branding on the front of boxes and at retail locations.

“The Wii is introducing new audiences to gaming,” said Dave Oxford of Activision Publishing.

“Clearly, the Wii’s accessible controls are changing how the audience plays games and how we look at game design. This initiative is designed to showcase games that take full advantage of the Wii’s capabilities.”

Activision said its move to expand its Wii portfolio has been in the works for more than a year, and that further titles to fall under the Wee 1ST brand will be announced in the coming weeks.

In a similar move, EA Sports recently unveiled its All-Play brand of titles being developed specifically for Nintendo’s mass-market friendly system.